Healthy Eggplant Curry Recipe (Brinjal/Aubergine)
Another vegetarian/vegan staple that you can add to your meal rotations! Here’s my healthy eggplant curry recipe.
As a child, I hated eggplant (or Aubergine as we call it in the UK). To me, it was the most tasteless and unappetizing vegetable out there! Then, out of nowhere, I began to develop a taste for it and even began craving it. My mom always loved eggplant and always tried to feed it to me and my dad whenever she could. (I suspect I’m gradually turning into her…)
I think that a lot of people loathe the texture of eggplant, because it has a tendency to become mushy if overcooked, on account of its high water content. With the right flavors and the perfect cooking time, this recipe will turn everyone into eggplant lovers!
In most of South Asia, eggplant is called ‘Brinjal’ and is often eaten with white rice or flatbreads (rotis). I recommend toasting up some seedless hamburger buns (with some ghee-clarified butter or plant-based butter) and enjoying this healthy eggplant curry recipe that way. It calls for a lot of spice, like most curries, but if you are unable to find Indian green chillies, just substitute them with red chilly powder instead.
Hearty Eggplant Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 6 tbsp sunflower/vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion
- 8 oz tomato sauce (or 2-3 small finely chopped tomatoes)
- 1 large eggplant Around 8 inches in width
- 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste (or finely chopped ginger and garlic)
- 1½ tsp chilly powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- *salt to taste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the eggplant, cut into bitesize cubes and set aside in a bowl.
- Finely chop the onion and green chillies (along with the tomatoes, ginger and garlic if you opt to use fresh ingredients)
- Heat up 4 tbsp of oil in a shallow frying pan on medium/high heat.
- Carefully add the cubed eggplant and fry for around 2-3 minutes or until tender. The eggplant will absorb a lot of the oil so feel free to add more if you like.
- Once the eggplant is cooked, remove from the pan and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- In the same pan, add 2 tbsp of oil (if needed since the amount of oil left from frying the eggplant may be enough if you added more).
- Add in the cumin seeds to the hot oil and wait until you see them sizzling.
- Now add in the onions and sauté until they are lightly browned (5-7 minutes on medium/high)
- Once the onions are lightly browned, add in the ginger and garlic and green chillies. Fry for another minute or until the raw ginger smell evaporates.
- Pour in the tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes) and stir for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low and add in the spices (chilly, turmeric, coriander, garam masala powders) and salt to taste.
- Turn the heat back up to high and stir the mixture for 1-2 minutes to cook off the spices.
- Now add the water and carefully incorporate with the mixture.
- Lower the heat and add the cooked eggplant. Stir in and cover with a lid. You want a thicker consistency but if you do happen to add more water, just leave to simmer for longer.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and check to see if the curry is of a thick enough consistency. There shouldn't be any residual liquid in the pan.
- The curry is done! Serve with toasted buns, flatbread or white rice.